Kristel Knaepen
Papers
9
Total Citations
422
H-Index
8
About
Kristel Knaepen is a leading researcher in the field of robot-assisted gait rehabilitation, with a focus on understanding and optimizing the complex interaction between humans and robotic exoskeletons. Her work bridges biomechanics, neuroscience, and control engineering to make rehabilitation devices safer, more effective, and more responsive to individual needs. Knaepen’s major contributions include demonstrating how compliant, lightweight exoskeletons can provide safe guidance during walking, and pioneering the use of psychophysiological feedback—such as cognitive workload and emotional state—to adapt robotic assistance in real time. Her highly cited paper on safe and compliant guidance (106 citations) and her study on kinematics and muscle activity during human-robot interaction (99 citations) are foundational in the field. She has also explored how factors like body weight support and guidance force affect trunk and pelvis kinematics, and how dual-task walking impacts cognitive load. Knaepen’s innovative biocooperative control architecture, which adapts game difficulty and haptic assistance based on user performance and psychophysiological signals, represents a significant step toward personalized, engaging rehabilitation. Her work has been published in top journals and continues to shape the design of intelligent, human-centered robotic therapy systems.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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- 9A proof-of-concept exoskeleton for robot-assisted rehabilitation of gait8 citations · 2009